Ryleigh didn’t bother pointing out that Jax loved Ramon. Their step-grandparents had taken him in twenty-six years ago. He’d been about two and obviously stressed from his previous living situation. He’d been underweight and half naked from plucking out his feathers. They’d agreed to keep him until a suitable owner could be found, but it turned out not that many people wanted a very young African gray—what with the lifespan in captivity being over forty-five years.
She’d been more afraid of Ramon, but Jax had immediately wanted to take care of him. Their grandparents had given him the smallest of the upstairs bedrooms in the old Victorian, moving out the books so Ramon could have a nice, large space. Jax had spent every free moment with the bird. She’d read to him, talked to him, hand-fed him and potty-trained him. Over that summer, he’d blossomed. By early September, he’d started exploring the bookstore and interacting with the customers. He was definitely a people kind of bird, but Jax was his special someone.
“What are you going to do about Harris?” she asked.
“Nothing. The house rules are in the parenting plan, so they can’t be altered unless we both agree. I’m not changing my mind about Shawna sleeping over. It’s just icky. He’ll sulkfor a while, but he’ll get over it.” Jax looked at her. “He’s been going out with her longer than he’s gone out with any of his other women, but he’s not looking for anything permanent. Let us all remember him telling me he was quote—tired of being tied down—unquote.”
Her tone was cheerful, but Ryleigh knew there was still a bit of pain hidden in the words. Jax had had no idea that Harris wanted out until he announced he was leaving. Ryleigh would never admit it to her sister, but she’d been a little less surprised. In the few years before the divorce it had seemed to her that Harris and Jax were living separate lives and that the sparks that had been so evident at first had long since died.
“I agree Harris doesn’t want to get too serious,” Ryleigh said. “Besides, he agreed to the house rules.”
Jax nodded. “You’re right.” She grinned. “And now they’re coming back to bite him in the butt. I kind of like that.”
“If you get Cheryl to say ‘bite him in the butt’ in front of Ramon, he might pick up on it.”
Jax laughed. “It’s marginally better, but I’m not sure it’s a solution. Why can’t he fly around saying ‘have a nice day’ instead?”
“Because he’s not a ‘have a nice day’ kind of bird. I think you’re going to be stuck with you getting laid for the next few days.”
“Lucky, lucky me.”
Chapter Two
Jax watched as Cheryl Tatum, a pretty, vibrant, sixtysomething former first grade teacher, held out her hand for Ramon to land on.
“Come on, handsome guy. You can hang out with me in the children’s section while we have story hour. Just no talking about you-know-what. You’ll see your mom in the morning.”
Ramon stayed on the bookshelf, glancing between Jax and Cheryl. He hopped closer to Jax and bobbed his head a couple of times.
“You getting laid.”
Jax groaned. “You’re never going to let that go, are you?” She moved toward him and lightly stroked his feathers. “You have a good evening. The kids and I will say good-night later.”
He briefly leaned against her before flying the short distance to land on Cheryl’s outstretched hand.
“Snack now,” he told her. “Snack, snack, snack.”
“Bedtime,” Cheryl told him, her voice firm. “If you get too many snacks, you’ll put on weight and that will make it harder to fly.”
He nuzzled her hair. “I am the Lorax.”
“I see the resemblance.” Cheryl smiled at Jax. “See you in the morning.”
Jax waved as the two of them headed for the children’s section. While many businesses closed early on Sundays, the Painted Lady Bookstore stayed open until seven, mostly so locals could stop by and hang out with Ramon. Cheryl, the events manager, did a late-afternoon story hour for younger kids so the parents could unwind a bit before the start of a new week.
Jax collected her bag and her backpack, then walked to her SUV. Although she was about to start her week with the kids, she didn’t need to bring any luggage with her. She and Harris still shared the main bedroom and bath at the family house. She kept enough clothes there that she didn’t have to bring anything back and forth. Should she forget something, her bookstore apartment was a mere fifteen minutes away.
She drove around the building then, as she always did, paused at the stop sign to glance back at the elegant three-story building. The exterior was done in shades of purple and lavender with white trim. There was a wide front porch with plenty of seating and big windows that let in light and offered lots of room for rotating displays.
Flush with happiness and pride at how well things were going, she checked both ways, then drove toward the house where she and Harris had once lived as a couple. Although she lived there every other week, in the past year or so it had morphed from “home” to the place where her children lived. She’d let go of old memories and hurts.
It had taken a couple of months for her to settle into the routine, but now she knew it was the right decision. Given the choice she would love to have her kids with her always, but this was certainly a good option, too. She and the kids had a routine they enjoyed. There was a rhythm to their weeks together. In between, Gentry and Xander frequently visited her in the store.
She arrived at the house right at five, per the parenting plan. The handoff was always on Sunday, with the entire family having an early dinner together. The departing parent cleaned the main bathroom and changed the sheets on the king-size bed they both used. Food for breakfasts and school lunches were to be left in the refrigerator. Weekend homework assignments needed to be finished. All that prep work meant the transition evening was calm and orderly with a minimum of start-of-the-week stress.
She pulled into the driveway and hit the garage door opener, then drove in next to Harris’s SUV. Seconds later the house door to the garage burst open and both kids rushed out. She held open her arms, then braced herself for them flinging themselves at her.
“I missed you guys,” she told them, holding on tight. True words, she thought, even though she’d seen both of them just two days before when they’d stopped by the bookstore to hang out for a couple of hours.
